PositiveBookReporterThere is an important lesson from this poignant and inspiring biography ... Throughout his ordeal, Elliott never lost faith in America. His eventual vindication overcame the political fear and distortion prevalent in the 1950s. At this moment in our history, viewing his life through the words of his son can provide us with optimism for the future.

Robert A. Caro

PositiveBookreporter\"Working is a brief and refreshing interlude from the painstakingly detailed life portraits that have become Caro’s trademark. While featuring some previously published material, it offers readers a contextual view of what his writing seeks to accomplish and why he writes with the vivid and glorious detail that makes his books essential to an understanding of the life and times of his subjects ... Although only 200 pages, Working offers significant insights into how a biographer treats his subjects and his craft.\

Harriet Tyce

PositiveBookreporter\"... a riveting thriller ... In her debut, Tyce has told her story in a fashion similar to John Grisham, who knows how to write courtroom fiction ... The courtroom scenes are certainly well-written and legally sound, but they are only a subpart of the plot. This is not meant to be a criticism; many legal-themed novels do not focus on the courtroom ... The final confrontation between Alison and Charles becomes a roller coaster ride of plot twists and emotional highs and lows that will have readers wondering how exactly the story will end.\

W. K. Stratton

RaveBookreporter\"Stratton’s chronicle of \'The Wild Bunch\' is a fascinating and detailed history of the making of an iconic movie that portrayed the West in a fashion far different from previous Westerns while still maintaining their natural artistic progression ... Stratton’s account is mesmerizing. Countless details of the movie industry and \'The Wild Bunch\' are included in the fascinating history he presents ... The Wild Bunch is essential reading for film buffs everywhere.\

Andrew Grant

RaveBook ReporterIt is enjoyable to kick off 2019 with a suspense novel that features a main character who resorts to guile and cunning rather than superhuman feats resulting in large body counts to accomplish his mission ... exhibits promising potential for future exploits ... McGrath has a plan that he follows with precision, and he is often one or two steps ahead of his opponents and his readers. Certainly there are the occasional suspensions of belief common to all suspense novels. But this fast-paced thriller will hold readers’ interest and attention. Andrew Grant indicates that McGrath will be back for more adventures. I will look forward to his next appearance.

John Feinstein

RaveBookreporterHis writing is comprehensive but unobtrusive. It is light and entertaining coverage, more like a conversation between two friends discussing the game over a burger and a beer. But his thoroughness cannot be denied ... By the end of the book, readers have significant knowledge of what it means to be a quarterback in the NFL ... Feinstein tells an enthralling story of an effort that is best characterized as all-encompassing, moving from the NFL draft room, to the locker room, practice field and game. It is a totally absorbing account.

Ian O'Connor

RaveBookreporterIan O’Connor’s Belichick is a deep and substantive dive into the life of a man many recognize as one of professional football’s greatest coaches. It is a football junkie’s delight, providing generous detail about a man whose football destiny was declared almost at birth ... Belichick’s tremendous success in New England is already well-known to both fans and detractors. I will let them debate his qualities elsewhere, but they are well-detailed in O’Connor’s book.

Michael Harvey

RaveBookreporterIn a vivid narrative, Harvey captures the Boston of the mid-’70s, where racial protests and battles were prevalent as the city struggled to face court-ordered desegregation of its school system through the busing of students between white and black neighborhoods ... [a] supernatural subplot adds an element of fantasy to the novel that makes for an entertaining pairing. Ultimately, though, Pulse is simply a great police procedural ... Pulse is a wonderful crime novel painted on a ’70s canvas. As a Chicago guy, I do hope that Michael Harvey returns his stories to my hometown, but my occasional trip to Boston is still quite enjoyable.

Stephen L. Carter

PositiveBookreporter\"...beautifully written, absorbing ... It is the investigation and courtroom scenes where Carter brings his grandmother to life ... He avoids the legal jargon and terminology, telling a story that reads like a novel. It is a page-turner, even though the results are known to the reader well before the conclusion.\

Heather Won Tesoriero

PositiveBookreporterThe Class by Heather Won Tesoriero is an inspiring account of prize-winning students mentored by an outstanding high school science teacher ... More than anything,The Class is a people book. Andy Bramante is the leading character, a former scientist in private industry who left a successful career to become a high school science teacher. In 2005, he joined the faculty at Greenwich, a school of 2,500 students with high national and state rankings in academics. After teaching chemistry for a year, he began directing the science research class, which had no curriculum, tests, textbooks or lectures. It is the kind of program that few schools can afford to offer ... As inspirational as The Class may be, there is a disquieting element to it. Greenwich is a wealthy community with well-funded schools and involved parents. Reading the book, I often paused to contemplate other students in less fortunate communities with far fewer resources. Tesoriero\'s account should serve as a reminder of what our schools can be, everywhere in America.

Tom Santopietro

Mixed20 Something Reads[Why To Kill a Mockingbird is] primarily a book of cinematic history, filigreed here and there with the borrowed significance of Mockingbird... But for readers who want to know about the film, it’s a success, absorbing and full of beguiling detail ... [ultimately, Santopietro unknots] the immense tangle of racial and personal and regional issues that Lee reflected and defined.

James Patterson & Alex Abramovich

PositiveBookreporter.comHad the authors pitched an outline of this story to publishers, it would have been rejected as too fanciful even as a work of fiction … All-American Murder is not a deep drill. Instead they skim lightly in their reporting of Hernandez’s life from high school and college football star to his brief NFL career and to his trials and suicide. But this is not meant to be a criticism of the book … Patterson and his team provide a detailed chronological account of Hernandez’s violent life.

Peter Temple

RaveBookreporter.comThe Broken Shore by Australian writer Peter Temple is far more than a great mystery novel — it is a great novel, period … Underlying the question of who shot Charles Bourgoyne are important topics: police corruption, racial politics and issues surrounding the all-too common clash between those favoring land development and those championing environmental concerns. Through it all, Temple paints a vivid and entertaining picture of complex characters in the land down under ... The Broken Shore is an unforgettable read.

John Grisham

RaveBookreporter.comGrisham is never reluctant to base his novels on the flaws and failures of our legal system...At the same time, he manages to educate readers while not preaching and does so in entertaining and enjoyable books that often provoke stimulating debate among the legal community. is no exception … There are no good guys in this novel, just bad guys and really bad guys. Fortunately, the bad guys have enough good in their hearts to make their exploits endearing.

John Grisham

MixedBookreporter.comCalico Joe, another sports-themed novel, is a baseball story that should not shock his fans ... This is not your typical John Grisham novel. There are no overarching social issues, pitched physical battles, skullduggery or mysterious deaths. Instead, there is just baseball, a game to enjoy in the moment as well as in history and tradition ... Grisham often turns to family, using redemption and reconciliation as a theme of his writing, whether on death row or, as in this book, on the baseball diamond. It may lack the suspense and fast-paced tumult of his legal thrillers, but its more taciturn style is appropriate for a baseball book.

John Grisham

RaveBookreporter.comFrom Shakespeare to Tony Soprano, the theme of revenge has always been a favorite; The Racketeer is a novel of revenge ... Bannister’s imprisonment serves as a soapbox for Grisham’s trenchant legal observations, suggesting that the incarceration of far too many of our citizens in a prison-industrial complex is a substantial waste of federal and state funds ... The plot twists and feints during the second half of the novel will occasionally have you checking the title to make certain you are still reading the same book ... Unbound by the borders of the courtroom or a trial, The Racketeer is vigorously entertaining.